MBK Parafoil
MBK Parafoil
These instructions will take you step-by-step through making a 120cm (4 ft) tall
Parafoil kite. This 4-cell kite performs best in gentle to moderate
wind speeds. That's 12 to 28kph or 8 to 18mph. Even in light
winds, this kite will hang in the air, although at low line angles.
In fresh winds, it pulls firmly for it's size, so small kids
should only fly it while supervised!
Some of the lines are
longer than the standard 30cm (12”) of most rulers. So, a handy
trick is to stretch out a length of flying line, weigh it down at
each end, and then make several dots beside it – less than a ruler
length apart. The dots can then be joined by using your ruler. With
care, you will end up with a perfectly straight long ruled line every
time.
The MBK Parafoil kite
is inspired by similar-looking retail kites, some of which are quite
large and expensive. However, this tape and plastic version works in
exactly the same way and has been tested up to 200 feet off the
ground.
Materials for this
kite...
The kite described here will do well with just
about any fairly robust plastic sheet. For example, heavy-duty
painter's drop-sheet or drop-cloth plastic. That would be around 4mil
thickness for those buying plastic sheet in the US. My kite also used
council bin liner plastic. Somewhat thicker and stronger than rubbish
bin (trash can) liners.
Ordinary clear sticky tape in a dispenser is good
for tacking seams together before laying down 5cm (2”) clear
packing tape for strength and stiffness. Other edges just require
sticky tape alone. I used the 1.8cm (3/4”) wide variety.
These instructions illustrate a Parafoil made with
50 pound (strength) Dacron bridle lines. This type of line is readily
available from eBay and Amazon online stores.
Upper And Lower Surfaces
When this kite flies, one surface of the sail
faces the sky – the Upper Surface. The other surface is
easily visible from the ground – the Lower Surface. In
between the two surfaces are vertical panels I will refer to as
Dividers.
On this site, there's more kite-making info than you can poke a stick at :-) Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?
The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads - printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small...
Every kite in every MBK series.
How To Make A Parafoil Kite...
Upper
Surface And Side Keels
Measuring Upper Surface And Side Keels
Dots measured and marked
-
Place your plastic sheeting on the floor.
Fold it in half from left to right and run a sharp, straight crease
down the left hand side.
- Starting from near the top-left corner,
measure and mark dots on the plastic. Just follow the arrows marked
on the photo. Dots have been highlighted in yellow.
Judge the horizontal directions by eye. If you're
careful, there's no need for a T-square since the sail ends up
symmetrical anyway.
Completing Dots For Upper Surface And Side
Keels
Half the dots
are already marked, so now you mark in the remaining ones. Almost
invisible in the photo below, but they are all there, small and in
black...
Plastic flipped, dots traced
-
Flip all the plastic over. Smooth out the 2
layers of plastic, double-checking that the vertical crease stays in
place. The crease is now on the right in the photo up there.
- Make dots over all the dots showing through
the 2 layers of plastic. Keep checking that nothing has slipped!
Hint: If it's too hard to see through the
plastic, just lay it up against a sun-lit window to mark in the dots.
Drawing Lines
For Upper Surface And Side Keels
All lines marked
-
Open out the sheet of plastic and lay it
flat.
- Connect the dots with marked lines as
shown in the photo. Some lines are 'panel outlines' while others are
'internal guide lines'. The central crease is also drawn over.
Note: The photo has been edited to make the
lines darker and easier to see.
Taping
Upper Surface And Side Keels
Where to put sticky tape edging
-
Lay down 1.8cm (3/4”) sticky tape where
indicated by yellow rectangles in the photo above. Note that
most of the tape is stuck inside the outline.
Cutting
Upper Surface And Side Keels
Upper surface sheet cut
-
Take your scissors and cut all around the
outside of the shape, along the black lines. Follow those
wedge-shaped cut-outs as well.
- When you are finished, the plastic should
look like the photo up there. Internal guide lines are still intact,
although a little hard to see in the photo.
Closing Upper
Surface Cut-outs
A cut-out closed and taped up
-
Ensure the plastic is laying with all the
edging tape facing away from the floor. The photo on the
left shows where some 5cm (2”) packing tape is placed over a
guide-line. Notice how the cut-out needs to close up in two
stages...
- Bring the first set of edges together and
hold with small bits of sticky tape.
- When satisfied that it lines up nicely, lay
5cm (2”) packing tape down all the first join. See the photo in
the middle.
- In the same way, tape the second set of
edges. See the photo on the right.
- Move over to the other side of the
plastic and do all the above again, on the other cut-out.
Making The
Central Keel
Measuring And Drawing The Central Keel
I have used orange plastic for this keel.
Contrasting colors make it easier to see what is going on in later
stages of construction...
Dots measured, marked and connected
-
Starting from near the top-left corner,
measure and mark dots on the plastic. Follow the arrows marked on
the photo on the left. The dots are highlighted in yellow.
- Connect the dots with marked lines as
shown in the photo on the right.
Taping And Cutting The Central Keel
Central keel taped and cut out
-
Lay down sticky tape as indicated by the
yellow rectangles in the photo on the left.
- Flip the plastic over, and lay down more
sticky tape, so the taping is the same on both sides. I flipped it
back again, before cutting...
- Cut all around the shape of the keel. See the
photo on the right.
Making Lower
Surface And Dividers
Measuring Lower Surface And Dividers
Start with a fresh sheet of plastic. This is
similar to the very first step – 'Measuring Upper Surface And Side
Keels'. I used a lighter shade of blue plastic for the lower
surface...
Dots measured and marked
-
Place your plastic sheeting on the floor.
Fold it in half from left to right and run a sharp, straight crease
down the left hand side.
- Starting from near the top-left corner,
measure and mark dots on the plastic. Just follow the arrows marked
on the photo. I've high-lighted the dots in yellow so they are
easier to see in the photo.
Completing Dots For Lower Surface And
Dividers
Half the dots
are already marked, so now you mark in the remaining ones. They
haven't been highlighted this time, but they are all there, small and
in black...
Plastic flipped, dots traced
-
Flip all the plastic over. Smooth out the 2
layers of plastic, double-checking that the vertical crease stays in
place.
- Make dots over all the dots showing through
the 2 layers of plastic. Keep checking that nothing has slipped!
Drawing Lines
For Lower Surface And Dividers
Lower Surface lines drawn
- Open out the sheet of plastic and lay it
flat.
- Connect the dots with marked lines as
shown in the photo. Some lines are 'panel outlines' while others are
'internal guide lines'.
Taping Lower
Surface And Dividers
Where to put the sticky tape
- Lay down sticky tape where indicated by
yellow rectangles in the photo above.
Cutting Lower
Surface And Dividers
Pieces cut, ready to assemble
- Take your scissors and cut all around the
outside of the shape, along the lines.
- Cut along the vertical center-line, so the
shape separates into left and right pieces.
- Cut off the rectangles at far left and far
right. When you are finished, the panels should look like the photo
up there, with some internal guide lines showing. See if you can cut
along the lines better than I did!
Assembling The
Sail
Attaching The Central Keel - a)
An edge taped to the center-line of the Upper Surface plastic
- Lay down the Upper Surface plastic with the
tape edging facing up.
- Referring to the photo on the left,
line up the central keel with the center-line of the Upper
Surface plastic, and run 5cm (2”) packing tape the full
length of the join. See the yellow rectangle. Trim off any excess
tape with scissors.
- Flip the keel over, as in the closer-up photo
on the right, and fold the join down as flat as possible. Run
packing tape down the join as before.
Attaching The
Central Keel – b)
Next edge of keel taped to center-line of Upper Surface plastic
- After taping in the previous step, continue
by holding the next keel edge in place with 1 or 2 small pieces of
sticky tape. Along the black line, as before.
- When satisfied that it looks good, run 5cm
(2”) packing tape along the join. As illustrated by the yellow
rectangle in the photo on the left.
- Now flip the keel over, flatten out the join
and run packing tape along it. As in the more close-up photo on
the right.
Attaching The
Central Keel – c)
Completed taping of keel to center-line of Upper Surface plastic
- After taping in the previous step, continue
by holding the last keel edge in place with 2 or 3 small pieces of
sticky tape. Along the black line, as before.
- When satisfied that it looks good, run 5cm
(2”) packing tape along the join. As illustrated by the yellow
rectangle in the photo on the left.
- Now flip the keel over, flatten out the join
and run packing tape along it. As in the more close-up photo on
the right.
As mentioned earlier, there's more kite-making on this site than you can poke a stick at :-) Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?
The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads - printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small. Every kite in every MBK series.
Continue to page 2